Please enjoy, thank you for reading.
TW- description of injury.
Initially Sonny was filled with terror when he awoke to find himself in a strange place. But as his eyes swept frantically over his surroundings he was reminded of their trip to the cabin. He rubbed his eyes clumsily before leaving the comfort of the warm cozy sofa bed. He walked around aimlessly smiling at the quirky cabin as memories began to flood back. When he stopped outside a tall wooden door, he could hear the soft sound of voices, once he managed to make out the words he began to move away as he realised he was intruding on something private, but Matt's next question to Kelly stopped him in his tracks.
"But what about sonny?" The young teen tilted his head at the question, what about him? What did that mean, were they going to leave him behind. But when he then heard Matt mention something about Ryder and his beliefs a frown appeared on Sonny's face. He felt a twinge of sadness in his head when it dawned on him what Matt were afraid Ryder was homophobic, something which Sonny almost found laughable because Ryder didn't care about anything like that , he didn't care about anything like that race, sexuality, beliefs as long as you didn't go poking around in his life he really didn't care who you were. Ryder wasn't the sort of person to waste time judging others. And Sonny, well he had never met anyone to judge. Admittedly it had taken Sonny a while to realise what Matt and Kelly meant to each other. He thought they acted like friends would normally act as he had nothing to compare them to. He didn't say anything when he realised they definitely didn't love each other like brothers because to him it hadn't changed anything, they were happy and that was all that now as listened to the fear in Matt's voice he realised that might have been a mistake.
He would put them out of there misery later ; for now he'd leave them to enjoy their time together. Therefore he moved his attention to the large window in the living room he'd originally ignored. He felt his breath catch as he pulled open the curtains revealing the stunning woods surrounding the cabin.
"Wow" he gasped as he sat down on the windowsill, his eyes fixated on the vast green woods.
That's how Matt and Kelly found him half an hour later, leaning against the window with a giant smile spreading across his face.
"Everything alright Sonny?" Asked Kelly a hint of amusement in voice.
"This place is amazing" Sonny exclaimed , the teen was wearing an expression of pure joy that filled Kelly with happiness.
"It really is" the firefighter replied as he crouched down next to the elated teen.
"We used to come here before?" asked Sonny his attention still glued to the window.
"Yeah we did it, it was like our second home", Kelly wondered if the cabin would go back to being their little paradise now that they were all together again. A few minutes later Sonny's voice pierced through Kelly's musings,
"I'm sorry I don't remember", Sonny's words were lace with a sincerity that made Kelly's heartbreak, the boy really had inherited Matt's need to take responsibility for everything bad.
"Hey don't worry, I can't remember anything from when I was four years old" chuckled Kelly as he rested a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Yeah but you're ol-" Sonny stopped abruptly as he took in Kelly's surprised expression.
"older", but Kelly wasn't surprised at the boy calling him old he was surprised and incredibly relieved that the boy no longer felt he need to walk on eggshells, he would never have made such a comment a few weeks ago.
"Nice save Kiddo" Kelly laughed as he ruffled the boys hair, everyday they were introduced to a new piece of Sonny, it often felt like a slow and tedious process but they they really had come along way after only a couple of months.
"Can I help?" Asked Sonny hopefully when he noticed Matt in the kitchen settling out the ingredients for pancakes.
"Of course " replied Matt with a grin. Matt doubted the teen had ever cooked when living with Ryder but over the past few weeks he seemed to enjoy helping out, in fact the boy appeared extremely relaxed in the kitchen. But Matt was starting to wonder if it was less about Sonny enjoying cooking and more about him being able to keep his mind occupied with a task.
"Soon you'll be a better chef than Matt" teased Kelly.
"Hey!" Yelled Matt as he flicked some powder at the firefighter. They'd all missed moments like this, despite being through hell they were beginning to feel like a family again.
After breakfast they went for a long peaceful walk through the beautiful woods surrounding the cabin. Something about being in the woods made Sonny feel safe and calm. It was just him and the two people he trusted most in the world, it was like nothing else existed. He didn't think he'd ever felt this calm before not even during their walks in the park. The woods were far from quiet , he could hear the leaves rustling and the sound of birds chirping but there were no strangers to worry about. He wished he could they could stay there forever.
As they trekked back towards their cabin Sonny's mind began to wander. He remembered walking through a dark wood once before but not with Matt or Kelly, no he remembered hiding in the woods with Ryder. Sonny's body stilled and his skin itched as the memory flashed through his mind, it was something he'd worked hard to forget. It went against the image of Ryder he'd built up in his head a long time ago. Subconsciously sonny ran his fingers through his hair as he gazed into the distance. After a while his hand found it's way to the scar on the back of his neck that ran down to the top of his back. It was the one time he'd seen Ryder scared, no not scared, terrified. Suddenly fear jolted through Sonny as he felt a hand on his shoulder, but as he recoiled away his foot landed unsteadily on a fallen branch and he suddenly found himself falling to the ground, as he skidded down into a ditch his left side collided painfully with the rough ground.
"Sonny" he heard someone yell when he found himself staring up at the sky partly obscured by the magnificent trees. He took in a few shaky breaths as he tried to ignore the burning sensation spreading over his left side,
"I'm fine" mumbled Sonny as he pushed himself up so he could see a concerned Matt and Kelly running down the small hill towards him. He tore his gaze away from the men and groaned as his eyes landed on the large rip in his T-shirt,
"I'm Sorry" he apologised quickly, he remembered how annoyed Ryder would get when he ruined his clothes, he hoped Matt wouldn't mind too much.
"Don't be sorry Sonny, can I see ?" Asked Matt in a gentle voice as he moved towards Sonny but the boy placed his arm over the gash as he shuffled backwards. He didn't need them to worry anymore, he'd already caused enough concern over the past decade.
"Mm fine just some cuts, nothing I can't handle" he replied in a clipped tone.
"Sonny please" begged Matt, all the blonde wanted to do was help his son.
"It's fine honestly".
"Kiddo -" began Kelly but the teen abruptly cut him off.
"I just slipped, I'm fine" repeated Sonny but both Matt and Kelly him a sceptical look.
"Honestly I'm fine, I just need to clean it once we get back " the teen reasoned ; Sonny could still see Matt trying to suppress the urge to reach out.
"Ok then, we're not far from the cabin now anyway" responded Matt after what felt like an eternity to Sonny. As the blonde rose to his feet and began stumbling back down he path Matt's voice cut through the air once more.
"But Sonny, if you need help just ask, we won't be mad", Sonny just nodded his head robotically as he doubted the man's words. He didn't need Matt's help anyway, Ryder taught him how to deal with his own injuries, he always told sonny "if you're old enough to complain you're old enough to fix the problem your damn self"
But as Sonny stood in the bathroom looking down at his injury he felt helpless. He knew he needed to remove the dirt sticking in the cut but reaching the injury required him to twist his aching body. He did his best to clean up the wound but there was still dirt and gravel lodged in the gash when he pulled his t-shirt back on. Matt had given him a bandage to put over the injury but after three failed attempts at securing it he'd thrown it into the bin. It'll be ok, it's not that bad it'll be ok Sonny repeated in his head like some of mantra. He could cope fine on his own, he wasn't weak. He'd prove Ryder he was strong, he'd be the man Ryder always wanted him to be.
That night Sonny frequently woke up drenched in sweat and shivering violently. Each time he'd curl up as tight as he could without hurting his side any further, and he'd wait miserably for sleep to claim him. When he opened his eyes to fund sunlight starting to pour into the room his whole body felt as if it was on fire. Sluggishly he moved himself to the edge of the bed ; before he could act any further a wave of nausea washed over him, he screwed his eyes shut as he waited for the horrible sensation to pass. When the nausea eventually eased Sonny attempted to lift his t-shirt off but the movement sent a spike of pain through his already aching body. Finally he managed to remove his t-shirt and he grimaced as his eyes landed on the angry gash on his side that was now oozing a yellow liquid. Realising he had only one option he scrambled to his feet and stumbled towards the bedroom. He didn't even bother to knock instead he leant heavily on the door as he pushed it open , he almost lost his balance when the door swung open faster than he expected. Immediately Sonny felt two concerned pairs of eyes on him, they must have heard him stumbling around because Matt was only a few steps away from the door, it looked like he was on his way to check on him. Sonny wished he'd stayed put, he should've stayed in bed and waited for the pain to pass.
"Sonny what's going on?" Questioned a concerned Matt. The older blonde's eyes filled with horror when they landed on the nasty infected gash marring Sonny's side.
"Mm sorry" mumbled Sonny hot tears started running down his face as he struggled to keep his eyes open. How could he have been so stupid to end up in this mess?
"It's ok Kiddo, lets get you sat down alright", Sonny was thankful as Matt slowly led him over to the bed, he didn't think he would've lasted standing up much longer.
"We need to get him the hospital Matt, that's infected" announced Kelly and Sonny found himself wishing he was back home listening to dark haired man reading.
"Sorry ruined" sobbed the boy struggling to think straight as darkness began to cloud his mind.
"Shh Sonny you didn't ruin anything" soothed Matt but Sonny continued to let out a series of sobs, each one weaker than the last. Accepting that calming Sonny would be impossible the two men decided to focus on keeping alert and getting him the help he urgently needed.
"I'm going to lift you up now, ok?", Sonny let our a small groan when he found his head leaning against Matt's shoulder. His body felt heavy and he was struggling to keep his eye lids open, but there was one thing he had to say before he could give into the overwhelming urge to let go.
"Mm sorry Dad" he mumbled hoping Matt heard him despite his strangled voice.
"It's ok, everything's going to be just fine Sonny ", When Matt's calming response reached his ears he finally let his body give into exhaustion.
A horrific beeping noise accompanied by the sound of voices pierced through the fog clouding Sonny's mind. The blonde pressed his head into the soft item underneath him but it did nothing to drown out the noise. He could hear the sound of footsteps walking past and his heart began to race as he struggled to work out where he was. He attempted to open his eyes but it was no use. He needed Matt, where was Matt? He definitely wasn't in Matt's arms anymore so where was he?. He tried to focus on finding his dad but loud noises continued to intrude on his already muffled thoughts. As his body continued to ache he focused all of his energy on forming one word.
"Daddd" murmured Sonny his voice sounding rough as the word escaped.
"It's ok I'm here Kiddo" called a warm voice but that wasn't enough to soothe Sonny. When he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder he attempted to move closer towards the touch, he attempted to move himself off the bed but his body felt heavy and clumsy; he could feel wires pulling on him as he searched out for Matt. He must have triggered an alarm as a deafening shrieking noise vibrated through the room. Sonny's entire body tensed and he began to sob as he longed to be safe in Matt's arms again .
"No Sonny you have to stay in the bed" he heard Matt state firmly as someone tentatively pushed him back down onto the mattress .
"Please" whined the boy feeling utterly helpless. He wanted this nightmare to end.
Next thing Sonny knew a strong arm wrapping around him and gently moving his head. As the horrible beeping was replaced by the steady rhythm of Matt's heart Sonny allowed his body to relax once again.
"Don't leave" murmured Sonny as his mind began to drift again.
"Shh, I'm not going any where" comforted Matt but Sonny was too tired and caught up in fear to listen.
"Don't leave Dad" he begged as tears continued to roll down his face. Everyone he loved left him eventually but he wasn't ready. He didn't want to loose Matt, he didn't want to feel empty and lost again . He didn't want to loose the support and happiness he had secretly craved for ever since Eve's death.
"Shh, Sonny I've got you, you're safe". As Matt carded his fingers through Sonny's hair the young teens crying began to slow. Eventually he found himself drifting off into a dreamless sleep as listened to Matt's reassurances.
"Don't worry Sonny I'll keep you safe".